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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I did not like it as much as East of Eden, but nevertheless it was decent. Definitely a story that makes us think about our times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
From the very start of this book, I knew I would have to write a big review for it. So it kinda matured all the while I read it - well, listened to it.
And what's best than to directly talk to my 15 y.o self. Because as I've heard, this book is on an incredible amount of to-read lists for US highschools. And although it's a good idea to have your lovely (eh) kids to read old stuff, I may be a liiiiil' bit skeptical that this is gonna be the book that draws them to read. GRANTED getting kiddies to read isn't the goal of highschool, more like, getting them sensibilized to modern issues, opening their eyes to varied litterary styles and eras. Which is a BIG PART of Steinbeck's beef and core theme of this book. CAPITALISM man.
But teenagers - well, it's a bit early - I saw a few comments from teenagers actually having to read this book - hell, one of my friends (around thirty just like me) was like "wHY are you reading this thing, I had to read it FOR COLLEGE".
My take is, having it as a mandatory read is a bit of a hassle, it's complex. And teenagers won't retain anything aside from Rosasharn's ded baby and the dog roadkill. I've been a highschool teacher, I've been a highschooler. AND TRUST ME when I say French highschool's mandatory reads aren't so different from US.
(I'm still having PTSD from reading Thérèse Raquin in my first year of highschool, had just started boarding, it was winter, basically, it was nOT GOOD).
So yeah, TL;DR don't read before having had a FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE of the work industry.
This is basically it, for the before-critique advice.
So we follow the Joads. There's Ma, there's Pa, there's three boys of working age, Noah, Tom (main protag) and Al, the bbies Ruthie and Winfield, the uncle, Jim Casy who just hitches a ride and becomes Jesus - yes, grandma and grandpa.
The numbers can and will dwindle as they set forth from Sallisaw, Okhlahoma, just like hundreds of thousands of other disposessed farmers during the Dust Bowl.
Their hard work on a land they knew by heart is replaced by tractors and uninvested workers who don't know shit about the land.
On the road, they'll get help and hate and everything in between. Help mostly coming from other displaced, migrant people, encompassing the saying "the less you hve, the more you're ready to give" culminating in the very last scene of the book, Rose of Sharon, having literally lost her baby, gives her breastmilk to a starving man.
I listened to this sentence while tearing off old wallpaper in my sister's flat (kudos to her ! as for myself, I'm still couch surfing) and had to stop for a few minutes.
Cue the "you're reading THIS !?" from my dad
and the "You're reading WHAT" from my sister.
I went back to my wallpaper, sore-hearted and already plotting this review.
It reminded me of my 15 y.o self, powering my way through fantasy novels because they catered to my young mind, only vaguely echoing the issues of our modern world. I had no cure for them, and only saw them in a very warped sense ; poor people were too lazy to work, migrants came to steal our jobs.
Because when I was a teen, I was racist. Out of ignorance. And BOY I'm cringing so hard at some of the things I said as a teen.
Had I had to read this book, I don't think I'd have understood more, as I had no idea how the world of work actually computed. Now, having been working for exactly teen years (WOO), in a mix of student jobs and my first careers (hi, teaching) and having settled in a place I think I can dug my lil' nest in (agricultural insurance, yes I know) my worldview has pretty much been switched around.
Not only do I GET the sempiternal dehumanization capitalism inflicts on people but I also get the references Steinbeck used.
"Why would you say Casy is jesus, it's bullshit, maybe Steinbeck didn't even THINK about it and just wrote it like this"
Maybe he did. Maybe it didn't occur to you because you had no idea what Jesus was said to have done and what sheer IMPACT a man dying in stead of another could do to a XXth century USAmerican, 15 y.o me.
"To get work, you just have to cross the street" our president would say. Yes, you can. Backbreaking shit jobs, but a job nonetheless. So what would you rather do ? Have some pride, and be considered the taint of society by not having a job and rely on government helps ? Or get this job and work 40 hours a week for not even minimum wage ?
It's illegal, I know, then how come I was employed in such a place ? Me and a few hundred other women in precarious conditions who took the first job offer they could get. Most of them with children most of them women of color, without means of transportation. Rings a bell ?
This book doesn't ring anything unless you've lived through it. You don't get Pa Joad ranting about woman governing the family, as Ma - WHOSE NAME WE'LL NEVER KNOW, leads her family rhough thick and thin and keeps then same, one plate of mush at a time.
Where do I leave my mic ? It's amazing nobody booted me out yet. ANYWAY, FIVE STARS, LAD.
And what's best than to directly talk to my 15 y.o self. Because as I've heard, this book is on an incredible amount of to-read lists for US highschools. And although it's a good idea to have your lovely (eh) kids to read old stuff, I may be a liiiiil' bit skeptical that this is gonna be the book that draws them to read. GRANTED getting kiddies to read isn't the goal of highschool, more like, getting them sensibilized to modern issues, opening their eyes to varied litterary styles and eras. Which is a BIG PART of Steinbeck's beef and core theme of this book. CAPITALISM man.
But teenagers - well, it's a bit early - I saw a few comments from teenagers actually having to read this book - hell, one of my friends (around thirty just like me) was like "wHY are you reading this thing, I had to read it FOR COLLEGE".
My take is, having it as a mandatory read is a bit of a hassle, it's complex. And teenagers won't retain anything aside from Rosasharn's ded baby and the dog roadkill. I've been a highschool teacher, I've been a highschooler. AND TRUST ME when I say French highschool's mandatory reads aren't so different from US.
(I'm still having PTSD from reading Thérèse Raquin in my first year of highschool, had just started boarding, it was winter, basically, it was nOT GOOD).
So yeah, TL;DR don't read before having had a FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE of the work industry.
This is basically it, for the before-critique advice.
So we follow the Joads. There's Ma, there's Pa, there's three boys of working age, Noah, Tom (main protag) and Al, the bbies Ruthie and Winfield, the uncle, Jim Casy who just hitches a ride and becomes Jesus - yes, grandma and grandpa.
The numbers can and will dwindle as they set forth from Sallisaw, Okhlahoma, just like hundreds of thousands of other disposessed farmers during the Dust Bowl.
Their hard work on a land they knew by heart is replaced by tractors and uninvested workers who don't know shit about the land.
On the road, they'll get help and hate and everything in between. Help mostly coming from other displaced, migrant people, encompassing the saying "the less you hve, the more you're ready to give" culminating in the very last scene of the book, Rose of Sharon, having literally lost her baby, gives her breastmilk to a starving man.
I listened to this sentence while tearing off old wallpaper in my sister's flat (kudos to her ! as for myself, I'm still couch surfing) and had to stop for a few minutes.
Cue the "you're reading THIS !?" from my dad
and the "You're reading WHAT" from my sister.
I went back to my wallpaper, sore-hearted and already plotting this review.
It reminded me of my 15 y.o self, powering my way through fantasy novels because they catered to my young mind, only vaguely echoing the issues of our modern world. I had no cure for them, and only saw them in a very warped sense ; poor people were too lazy to work, migrants came to steal our jobs.
Because when I was a teen, I was racist. Out of ignorance. And BOY I'm cringing so hard at some of the things I said as a teen.
Had I had to read this book, I don't think I'd have understood more, as I had no idea how the world of work actually computed. Now, having been working for exactly teen years (WOO), in a mix of student jobs and my first careers (hi, teaching) and having settled in a place I think I can dug my lil' nest in (agricultural insurance, yes I know) my worldview has pretty much been switched around.
Not only do I GET the sempiternal dehumanization capitalism inflicts on people but I also get the references Steinbeck used.
"Why would you say Casy is jesus, it's bullshit, maybe Steinbeck didn't even THINK about it and just wrote it like this"
Maybe he did. Maybe it didn't occur to you because you had no idea what Jesus was said to have done and what sheer IMPACT a man dying in stead of another could do to a XXth century USAmerican, 15 y.o me.
"To get work, you just have to cross the street" our president would say. Yes, you can. Backbreaking shit jobs, but a job nonetheless. So what would you rather do ? Have some pride, and be considered the taint of society by not having a job and rely on government helps ? Or get this job and work 40 hours a week for not even minimum wage ?
It's illegal, I know, then how come I was employed in such a place ? Me and a few hundred other women in precarious conditions who took the first job offer they could get. Most of them with children most of them women of color, without means of transportation. Rings a bell ?
This book doesn't ring anything unless you've lived through it. You don't get Pa Joad ranting about woman governing the family, as Ma - WHOSE NAME WE'LL NEVER KNOW, leads her family rhough thick and thin and keeps then same, one plate of mush at a time.
Where do I leave my mic ? It's amazing nobody booted me out yet. ANYWAY, FIVE STARS, LAD.
Stunning. The Great American Novel...is. When art is brilliant, sometimes you can't even tell what is happening or why it's affecting you. This is one of those books.
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5 stars
"And they stand still and watch the potatoes float by, listen to the screaming pigs being killed in a ditch and covered with quicklime, watch the mountains of oranges slop down to a putrefying ooze; and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage."
"And they stand still and watch the potatoes float by, listen to the screaming pigs being killed in a ditch and covered with quicklime, watch the mountains of oranges slop down to a putrefying ooze; and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage."
How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it.
The Joads have to move out of the east and migrate North because of the historical Dust Bowl that's failing the crops, soil, and agriculture. Boo! Who want's to read a book like that? Well, I actually gave it a serious read. And I learned a lot. More than I thought. So, why should you read this book, then?
The Grapes of Wrath highlights the devastation of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression era of the U.S., and focuses on one family--the Joads--as they travel through Route 66 and their experiences in higher-class California as "Okies".
This novel really highlights how it feels to be a lower-class American during this era in time; Nobody appreciated you, nobody saw you as human, and nobody thought you were worth more than a nickel. This novel does a fantastic job of humanizing its farmer characters, including the Joad family and others like ex-Preacher Jim Casy and Wilkie + Timothy Wallace. We get deep introspections into each character and really start to understand them like we're experiencing their tragedies with them, whether it be the aggressions faced towards the lower-class, the absence of food, or the harsh conditions of minimum-wadge slave labor.
The Grapes of Wrath is an excellent showcase of the human condition through despair and hope, similar to Steinbeck's most acclaimed novel East of Eden, this book really gets you to sympathize with the characters and feel for their situations, which Steinbeck does enchantingly through his disturbingly human dialogue and wicked good prose.
Through little intermissions throughout the narrative, Steinbeck tells us about the Dust Bowl itself and its the problems it's caused for farmers in the East, whether it be highly descriptive paragraphs about starving children or powerful one-liners about the power of the bank and how unforgiving it is towards the average working man, the man will make you 100x more appreciative of your situation and 100x more understanding of the less fortunate.
Truly one of the most endearing and sincere American novels of its time, Steinbeck's simple yet elegant prose makes this super easy to read and digest, not wasting a single amount of impact on any unnecessary words or plot points. Realistic, witty, and sadly relevant to this day.
The Joads have to move out of the east and migrate North because of the historical Dust Bowl that's failing the crops, soil, and agriculture. Boo! Who want's to read a book like that? Well, I actually gave it a serious read. And I learned a lot. More than I thought. So, why should you read this book, then?
The Grapes of Wrath highlights the devastation of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression era of the U.S., and focuses on one family--the Joads--as they travel through Route 66 and their experiences in higher-class California as "Okies".
This novel really highlights how it feels to be a lower-class American during this era in time; Nobody appreciated you, nobody saw you as human, and nobody thought you were worth more than a nickel. This novel does a fantastic job of humanizing its farmer characters, including the Joad family and others like ex-Preacher Jim Casy and Wilkie + Timothy Wallace. We get deep introspections into each character and really start to understand them like we're experiencing their tragedies with them, whether it be the aggressions faced towards the lower-class, the absence of food, or the harsh conditions of minimum-wadge slave labor.
The Grapes of Wrath is an excellent showcase of the human condition through despair and hope, similar to Steinbeck's most acclaimed novel East of Eden, this book really gets you to sympathize with the characters and feel for their situations, which Steinbeck does enchantingly through his disturbingly human dialogue and wicked good prose.
Through little intermissions throughout the narrative, Steinbeck tells us about the Dust Bowl itself and its the problems it's caused for farmers in the East, whether it be highly descriptive paragraphs about starving children or powerful one-liners about the power of the bank and how unforgiving it is towards the average working man, the man will make you 100x more appreciative of your situation and 100x more understanding of the less fortunate.
Truly one of the most endearing and sincere American novels of its time, Steinbeck's simple yet elegant prose makes this super easy to read and digest, not wasting a single amount of impact on any unnecessary words or plot points. Realistic, witty, and sadly relevant to this day.
And since, when a joyful thing happened, they looked to see whether joy was on her, it was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials. But better than joy was calm. Imperturbability could be depended upon. And from her great and humble position in the family she had taken dignity and a clean calm beauty.
Here’s a letter my brother wrote the day before he died. Here’s an oldtime hat. These feathers—never got to use them. No, there isn’t room.
How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it.
They sat and looked at it and burned it into their memories. How’ll it be not to know what land’s outside the door? How if you wake up in the night and know—and know the willow tree’s not there? Can you live without the willow tree? Well, no, you can’t. The willow tree is you. The pain on that mattress there—that dreadful pain—that’s you.
"An’ you ain’t gonna preach?” Tom asked.
“I ain’t gonna preach.”
“An’ you ain’t gonna baptize?” Ma asked.
“I ain’t gonna baptize. I’m gonna work in the fiel’s, in the green fiel’s, an’ I’m gonna be near to folks. I ain’t gonna try to teach ’em nothin’. I’m gonna try to learn. Gonna learn why the folks walks in the grass, gonna hear ’em talk, gonna hear ’em sing. Gonna listen to kids eatin’ mush. Gonna hear husban’ an’ wife a-poundin’ the mattress in the night. Gonna eat with ’em an’ learn.” His eyes were wet and shining. “Gonna lay in the grass, open an’ honest with anybody that’ll have me. Gonna cuss an’ swear an’ hear the poetry of folks talkin’. All that’s holy, all that’s what I didn’ understan’. All them things is the good things.”
Ma said, “A-men.”
Here’s a letter my brother wrote the day before he died. Here’s an oldtime hat. These feathers—never got to use them. No, there isn’t room.
How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it.
They sat and looked at it and burned it into their memories. How’ll it be not to know what land’s outside the door? How if you wake up in the night and know—and know the willow tree’s not there? Can you live without the willow tree? Well, no, you can’t. The willow tree is you. The pain on that mattress there—that dreadful pain—that’s you.
"An’ you ain’t gonna preach?” Tom asked.
“I ain’t gonna preach.”
“An’ you ain’t gonna baptize?” Ma asked.
“I ain’t gonna baptize. I’m gonna work in the fiel’s, in the green fiel’s, an’ I’m gonna be near to folks. I ain’t gonna try to teach ’em nothin’. I’m gonna try to learn. Gonna learn why the folks walks in the grass, gonna hear ’em talk, gonna hear ’em sing. Gonna listen to kids eatin’ mush. Gonna hear husban’ an’ wife a-poundin’ the mattress in the night. Gonna eat with ’em an’ learn.” His eyes were wet and shining. “Gonna lay in the grass, open an’ honest with anybody that’ll have me. Gonna cuss an’ swear an’ hear the poetry of folks talkin’. All that’s holy, all that’s what I didn’ understan’. All them things is the good things.”
Ma said, “A-men.”